NOWIN RACIAL JUSTICE

Colorado’s In-State Tuition ASSET Bill One Signature Away From Law

It only took ten years, but Colorado has finally done it. In a 40-21 vote Friday the Colorado House approved the ASSET bill, the state’s tuition equity bill, which would allow undocumented students who graduated from high school in Colorado to pay the same in-state tuition that their peers pay for college, the Yuma Pioneer reported.

The law addresses a fundamental inequity in higher education for undocumented immigrants. Because undocumented students are technically not considered residents of their home states, even if they grew up their their entire lives, they must pay out-of-state tuition when they’re ready to go for college. That tuition can be two and three times the in-state price, and because undocumented students are barred from accessing federal aid and loans, the price of college becomes prohibitively expensive. Colorado, like more than a dozen states before it, decided that such a move was shutting off young people’s futures and doing no good for the state itself.

The bill is now headed to Gov. John Hickenlooper’s desk, who has said that he would sign it into law.

Read this online at http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/03/colorados_in-state_tuition_asset_bill_one_signature_away_from_law.html

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